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Carnism is a concept used in discussions of humanity's relation to other animals, defined as a prevailing
ideology An ideology is a set of beliefs or values attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely about belief in certain knowledge, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones". Form ...
in which people support the use and consumption of
animal product An animal product is any material derived from the body of a non-human animal or their excretions. Examples are meat, fat, blood, milk, eggs, honey, and lesser known products, such as isinglass, rennet, and cochineal. The word animals inc ...
s, especially
meat Meat is animal Tissue (biology), tissue, often muscle, that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and farmed other animals for meat since prehistory. The Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of vertebrates, including chickens, sheep, ...
. Carnism is presented as a dominant belief system supported by a variety of
defense mechanisms In psychoanalytic theory, defence mechanisms are unconscious psychological processes that protect the self from anxiety-producing thoughts and feelings related to internal conflicts and external stressors. According to this theory, healthy ...
and mostly unchallenged assumptions.Kool, V. K.; Agrawal, Rita (2009). "The Psychology of Nonkilling", in Joám Evans Pim (ed.),''Toward a Nonkilling Paradigm'',
Center for Global Nonkilling The Center for Global Nonkilling (originally known as the Center for Global Nonviolence) is an international non-profit organization focused on the promotion of change toward the measurable goal of a killing-free world. The Center for Global Nonki ...
, pp.&nbs
353–356
The term ''carnism'' was coined by social psychologist and author
Melanie Joy Melanie Joy (born September 2, 1966) is an American social psychologist and author, primarily notable for coining and promulgating the term carnism. She is the founding president of nonprofit advocacy group Beyond Carnism, previously known as C ...
in 2001 and popularized by her book ''
Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows ''Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism'' is a 2009 book by American social psychologist Melanie Joy about the belief system and psychology of meat eating, or " carnism". Joy coined the term ''carnism'' in 2001 an ...
'' (2009). Joy, Melanie (2011)
009 009 may refer to: * OO9, gauge model railways * O09, FAA identifier for Round Valley Airport * 0O9, FAA identifier for Ward Field, see List of airports in California * British secret agent 009, see 00 Agent * BA 009, see British Airways Flight ...
''Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism''. Conari Press, p. 9. .
Central to the ideology is the acceptance of meat-eating as "natural", "normal", "necessary", and (sometimes) "nice", known as the "Four Ns". An important feature of carnism is the classification of only particular species of animal as food, and the acceptance of practices toward those animals that would be rejected as unacceptable
cruelty Cruelty is the intentional infliction of suffering or the inaction towards another's suffering when a clear remedy is readily available. Sadism can also be related to this form of action or concept. Cruel ways of inflicting suffering may involv ...
if applied to other species. This classification is culturally relative, so that, for example, dogs are eaten by some people in
Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...
but may be pets in the West, while cows are eaten in the West but
protected Protection is any measure taken to guard something against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although ...
in much of
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
.


History

Analyzing the history of vegetarianism and opposition to it from ancient Greece to the present day, literary scholar Renan Larue found certain commonalities in what he described as carnist arguments. According to him, carnists typically held that vegetarianism is a ludicrous idea unworthy of attention, that mankind is invested with dominion over animals by divine authority, and that abstaining from violence against animals would pose a threat to humans. He found that the views that farmed animals do not suffer, and that slaughter is preferable to death by disease or predation, gained currency in the nineteenth century, but that the former had precedent in the writings of
Porphyry Porphyry (; , ''Porphyrios'' "purple-clad") may refer to: Geology * Porphyry (geology), an igneous rock with large crystals in a fine-grained matrix, often purple, and prestigious Roman sculpture material * Shoksha porphyry, quartzite of purple c ...
, a vegetarian who advocated the humane production of animal products which do not require animals to be slaughtered, such as wool. In the 1970s, traditional views on the moral standing of animals were challenged by
animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have Moral patienthood, moral worth independent of their Utilitarianism, utility to humans, and that their most basic interests—such as ...
advocates, including psychologist Richard Ryder, who in 1971 introduced the notion of
speciesism Speciesism () is a term used in philosophy regarding the treatment of individuals of different species. The term has several different definitions. Some specifically define speciesism as discrimination or unjustified treatment based on an indivi ...
. This is defined as the assignment of value and rights to individuals solely on the basis of their
species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
membership. In 2001, psychologist and animal rights advocate Melanie Joy coined the term ''carnism'' for a form of speciesism that she argues underpins using animals for food, and particularly killing them for meat. Joy, Melanie (2001)
"From Carnivore to Carnist: Liberating the Language of Meat"
''Satya'', 18(2), September, pp. 126–127; Joy, Melanie (2003). ''Psychic Numbing and Meat Consumption: The Psychology of Carnism'', doctoral dissertation, Saybrook Graduate School, San Francisco.
Joy compares carnism to
patriarchy Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of authority are primarily held by men. The term ''patriarchy'' is used both in anthropology to describe a family or clan controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males, and in fem ...
, arguing that both are dominant normative ideologies that go unrecognized because of their ubiquity: Sandra Mahlke argues that carnism is the "central crux of speciesism" because the eating of meat motivates ideological justification for other forms of animal exploitation.
Abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...
Gary Francione Gary Lawrence Francione (born May 1954) is an American academic in the fields of law and philosophy. He is Board of Governors Professor of Law and Katzenbach Scholar of Law and Philosophy at Rutgers Law School, Rutgers University in New Jersey ...
argues against this that carnism is not a hidden ideology, but a conscious choice; in his view some animals are viewed as food and others family because humans regard non-humans as
property Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, re ...
, and they may value that property as they please.


Features


Edible or inedible

A central aspect of carnism is that animals are categorized as edible, inedible, pets,
vermin Vermin (colloquially varmint(s) or varmit(s)) are pests or nuisance animals that spread diseases and destroy crops, livestock, and property. Since the term is defined in relation to human activities, which species are included vary by regi ...
, predators, or entertainment animals, according to people's
schemata Schema may refer to: Science and technology * SCHEMA (bioinformatics), an algorithm used in protein engineering * Schema (genetic algorithms), a set of programs or bit strings that have some genotypic similarity * Schema.org, a web markup vocabu ...
– mental classifications that determine, and are determined by, our beliefs and desires. There is cultural variability regarding which animals count as food. Dogs are eaten in China, and South Korea, but elsewhere are not viewed as food, either because they are loved or, as in the Middle East and parts of India, regarded as unclean. Cows are eaten in the West, but revered in much of India. Pigs are rejected by Muslims and Jews but widely regarded by other groups as edible. Joy and other psychologists argue that these taxonomies determine how the animals within them are treated, influence subjective perceptions of their sentience and intelligence, and reduce or increase
empathy Empathy is generally described as the ability to take on another person's perspective, to understand, feel, and possibly share and respond to their experience. There are more (sometimes conflicting) definitions of empathy that include but are ...
and moral concern for them.Joy 2011, pp. 14, 17.


Meat paradox

Jeff Mannes writes that carnism is rooted in a paradox between most people's values and actions: they oppose harming animals, and yet eat them. He argues that this conflict leads to
cognitive dissonance In the field of psychology, cognitive dissonance is described as a mental phenomenon in which people unknowingly hold fundamentally conflicting cognitions. Being confronted by situations that challenge this dissonance may ultimately result in some ...
, which people attempt to attenuate through
psychic numbing Psychic numbing is a tendency for individuals or societies to withdraw attention from past experiences that were traumatic, or from future threats that are perceived to have massive consequences but low probability. Psychic numbing can be a respons ...
. The apparent conflict between caring about animals and embracing diets which require them to be harmed has been termed the "
meat paradox The psychology of eating meat is an area of study seeking to illuminate the confluence of morality, emotions, cognition, and personality characteristics in the phenomenon of the consumption of meat. Research into the psychological and cultural fa ...
".Loughnan, Steve; Bastian, Brock; Haslam, Nick (2014)
"The Psychology of Eating Animals"
''Current Directions in Psychological Science'', 23(2), April, pp. 104–108.
Fawcett, Anne (2013). "Euthanasia and morally justifiable killing in a veterinary clinical context", in Jay Johnston, Fiona Probyn-Rapsey (eds.), ''Animal Death'', Sydney: Sydney University Press, p.&nbs
215
There is experimental evidence supporting the idea that the meat paradox induces cognitive dissonance in Westerners. Westerners are more willing to eat animals which they regard as having lesser mental capacities and moral standing, and conversely, to attribute lesser mental faculties and moral standing to animals which are eaten. Furthermore, the relationship is causative: the categorization of animals as food or not affects people's perception of their mental characteristics, and the act of eating meat itself causes people to attribute diminished mental capacity to animals. For example, in one study people rated an unfamiliar exotic animal as less intelligent if they were told native people hunted it, and in another they regarded cows as less intelligent after eating beef jerky. Avoiding consideration of the provenance of
animal product An animal product is any material derived from the body of a non-human animal or their excretions. Examples are meat, fat, blood, milk, eggs, honey, and lesser known products, such as isinglass, rennet, and cochineal. The word animals inc ...
s is another strategy. Joy argues that this is why meat is rarely served with the animal's head or other intact body parts.


Justification

Joy introduced the idea of the "Three Ns of Justification", writing that meat-eaters regard
meat consumption Meat is animal tissue, often muscle, that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and farmed other animals for meat since prehistory. The Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of vertebrates, including chickens, sheep, goats, pigs, h ...
as "normal, natural, and necessary". She argues that the "Three Ns" have been invoked to justify other ideologies, including slavery and denying women the right to vote, and are widely recognized as problematic only after the ideology they support has been dismantled. The argument holds that people are conditioned to believe that humans evolved to eat meat, that it is expected of them, and that they need it to survive or be strong. These beliefs are said to be reinforced by various institutions, including religion, family and the media. Although scientists have shown that humans can get enough protein in their diets without eating meat, the belief that meat is required persists. Moreover, a 2022 study published in ''
PNAS ''Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America'' (often abbreviated ''PNAS'' or ''PNAS USA'') is a peer-reviewed multidisciplinary scientific journal. It is the official journal of the National Academy of S ...
'' calls into question the impact of meat consumption on shaping the evolution of the human species. Building on Joy's work, psychologists conducted a series of studies in the United States and Australia, published in 2015, that found the great majority of meat-eaters' stated justifications for consuming meat were based on the "Four Ns" – "natural, normal, necessary, and nice". The arguments were that humans are
omnivore An omnivore () is an animal that regularly consumes significant quantities of both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize t ...
s (''natural''), that most people eat meat (''normal''), that vegetarian diets are lacking in nutrients (''necessary''), and that meat tastes good (''nice'')."How people defend eating meat"
Lancaster University, 15 May 2015.
Meat-eaters who endorsed these arguments more strongly reported less guilt about their dietary habits. They tended to objectify animals, have less moral concern for them and attribute less consciousness to them. They were also more supportive of
social inequality Social inequality occurs when resources within a society are distributed unevenly, often as a result of inequitable allocation practices that create distinct unequal patterns based on socially defined categories of people. Differences in acce ...
and hierarchical ideologies, and less proud of their
consumer choice The theory of consumer choice is the branch of microeconomics that relates preferences to consumption expenditures and to consumer demand curves. It analyzes how consumers maximize the desirability of their consumption (as measured by their pr ...
s. Helena Pedersen, in her review of Joy's original book, suggested Joy's theory was too broad and did not account for variation in people's beliefs and attitudes; for example, Pedersen argues that Joy's argument that people dissociate animal products from their animal origins cannot account for some hunters who make explicit connection between the two as a justification for consumption or for former vegetarians who have changed their attitudes towards the consumption of animal products. Pedersen also says that Joy seems to present the consumption of animal-products as arising from ignorance of how they are produced, however Pedersen disagrees that people would simply change their consumption if they were more informed.


"Saved from slaughter" narratives

An illustration of dissonance reduction is the prominence given to "saved from slaughter" stories, in which the media focus on one animal that evaded slaughter, while ignoring the millions that did not. Joy wrote that this dichotomy is characteristic of carnism. Animals at the center of these narratives include Wilbur in ''
Charlotte's Web ''Charlotte's Web'' is a book of children's literature by American author E. B. White and illustrated by Garth Williams. It was published on October 15, 1952, by Harper & Brothers. It tells the story of a livestock pig named Wilbur and his frie ...
'' (1952); the eponymous and fictional star of ''
Babe Babe may refer to: * Babe, a term of endearment * A newborn baby * An attractive (especially female) person People * Babe (nickname), a list of people * Jerome Babe (1837–1893), American inventor and miner * Thomas Babe (1941–2000), Ame ...
'' (1995); Christopher Hogwood in
Sy Montgomery Sy Montgomery (born February 7, 1958) is an American naturalist, author, and scriptwriter who writes for children as well as adults. Biography Early life and education Montgomery was born on February 7, 1958, in Frankfurt, Germany, to Austi ...
's ''The Good, Good Pig'' (2006);Mizelle, Brett (2015). "Unthinkable Visibility: Pigs, Pork and the Spectacle of Killing and Meat", in Marguerite S. Shaffer, Phoebe S. K. Young (eds.),
Rendering Nature: Animals, Bodies, Places, Politics
', University of Pennsylvania Press, p. 264; Mizelle, Brett (2012). ''Pig'', Reaktion Books, pp. 105–106.
the
Tamworth Two The Tamworth Two were a pair of pigs that escaped while being unloaded from a lorry at an abattoir in the English town of Malmesbury, Wiltshire in January 1998. The pigs (later named Butch and Sundance after ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance K ...
; Emily the Cow and Cincinnati Freedom. The American
National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation The National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation is a ceremony that takes place at the White House every year shortly before Thanksgiving. The president of the United States is presented with a live domestic turkey by the National Turkey Federat ...
is cited as another example. A 2012 study found that most media reporting on it celebrated the poultry industry while marginalizing the link between living animals and meat.Packwood-Freeman, Carrie; Perez, Oana Leventi (2012). "Pardon Your Turkey and Eat Him Too", in Joshua Frye, Michael S. Bruner (eds.), ''The Rhetoric of Food: Discourse, Materiality, and Power'', Routledge, pp.&nbs
103ff


Non-academic reception

Opinion pieces in ''
The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...
'', '' The Statesman'', and '' The Drum'' praised the idea, saying the term made it easier to discuss, and challenge, the practices of animal exploitation. An article in the beef industry outlet ''Drovers Cattle Network'' criticized the use of the term, saying it implied that eating animal foods was a "psychological sickness".


See also

*
Food studies Food studies is the critical examination of food and its contexts within science, art, history, society, and other fields. It is distinctive from other food-related areas of study such as nutrition, agriculture, gastronomy, and culinary arts in tha ...
*
Moral psychology Moral psychology is the study of human thought and behavior in ethical contexts. Historically, the term "moral psychology" was used relatively narrowly to refer to the study of moral development. This field of study is interdisciplinary between th ...
*
Non-vegetarian Non-vegetarian food (in Indian English sometimes shortened to non-veg food) contains meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, or the flesh of any other animal), and sometimes, Egg as food, eggs. The term is common in India, but not usual elsewhere. In ...
ism *
Psychology of eating meat The psychology of eating meat is an area of study seeking to illuminate the confluence of morality, emotions, cognition, and personality characteristics in the phenomenon of the consumption of meat. Research into the psychological and cultural fa ...
*
Speciesism Speciesism () is a term used in philosophy regarding the treatment of individuals of different species. The term has several different definitions. Some specifically define speciesism as discrimination or unjustified treatment based on an indivi ...
*
Taboo food and drink Some people do not eat various specific foods and beverages in conformity with various religious, cultural, legal or other societal prohibitions. Many of these prohibitions constitute taboos. Many food taboos and other prohibitions forbid the mea ...
*
Veganism Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a vega ...
*
List of vegan media This list contains media that discuss the intersection of veganism and/or a plant-based diet with nutrition, health, ethics, and environmentalism/climate change. Books Documentary films Misc Cooking shows *'' Pamela's Cooking with Lov ...


Notes


References


Further reading

* Castricano, Jodey, and Rasmus R. Simonsen, eds. (2016). ''Critical Perspectives on Veganism''. Basingstoke, United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan. * Kanerva, Minna (2021)
''The New Meatways and Sustainability''
Bielefeld, Germany: transcript Verlag. * Herzog, Hal (2010). ''Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat''. New York: Harper Collins. * Joy, Melanie (2015)
"Beyond carnism and toward rational, authentic food choices"
TEDx talk TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "Ideas Change Everything" (previously "Ideas Worth Sprea ...
. * Monteiro, Christopher A., Tamara D. Pfeiler, Marcus D. Patterson and Michael A. Milburn (2017). "The Carnism Inventory: Measuring the ideology of eating animals". ''Appetite'' 113: 51–62. . * Potts, Annie, ed. (2016). ''Meat Culture''. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. * Vialles, Noëlie (1994). ''Animal to Edible''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. {{Authority control Animal rights Animal welfare Carnivory Animal ethics Ethical schools and movements Philosophy of biology Prejudices Psychological concepts Sustainable food system Vegetarianism